


To Be Continued

by nonebutyou



Category: Days of Our Lives
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Future Fic, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-05
Packaged: 2019-06-01 18:10:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15148895
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nonebutyou/pseuds/nonebutyou
Summary: Two years down the road, Paul was loved and in love. It was surprisingly uncomplicated.





	To Be Continued

**Author's Note:**

> It's fluff time! Last Friday's episode put me in a really good mood and I wanted to give Will and Paul a happy future before I start spewing drama and angst again. I love them so much! ;_;

Paul was alone when he woke up, which was unusual for a Sunday morning. He curled sleepily into the heavy warmth of the comforter and tried to remember if Will had mentioned any early plans for the day. He could hear the sounds of someone trying and failing to move quietly in the kitchen: a thud as a drawer was pushed back too abruptly and a muffled curse still loud enough to drift through the closed bedroom door.

Paul lay there, dozing but still distantly aware of the noises, until curiosity got the best of him. By the time he made it out of bed and from there, out of the bathroom, the apartment was silent. He wondered if Will had left.

As it turned out, he hadn't. Will was sitting on the kitchen counter, crunching on spoonfuls of dry cereal with his eyes closed. He was wearing one of Paul’s sweatshirts, which fit him reasonably well, if a little loose around the shoulders and arms.

‘What are you doing up there?’ Paul asked, giving him a quick kiss. He tasted like sugar and coffee.

‘Tiles are too cold,’ Will mumbled. He opened his eyes, deposited his bowl on the counter, and hooked an ankle around Paul’s waist, reeling him in. ‘Good morning. Did you know I selflessly got up at the crack of dawn, in the dead of winter, just to have coffee ready for you?’

‘It's still fall. And it took you that long to make me one cup of coffee?’ Paul teased, but he was already leaning in, giving in to Will’s expectant face. They kissed slowly, savouring the moment, Will clutching fistfuls of his sweater and holding him close.

Will nipped playfully at Paul's lower lip and gave him a gentle shove backwards. ‘Drink your coffee before it gets cold.’

There was a cup waiting by the coffee machine, freshly poured and still sending up soft wisps of steam. He took a careful sip as he lifted himself into a seat next to Will, who was starting on his cereal again.

‘How come you didn't you sleep in today?’ Paul asked. ‘I can't even remember the last time you were up before me on a Sunday.’

‘I do. It was three months ago, when you came back from working that out-of-town case.’

Paul ducked his head, smiling helplessly into his coffee. That had been a fun morning, and an even better afternoon.

‘Don't distract me,’ he said, trying to sound stern and missing it by a mile if Will’s grin was anything to go by. ‘I know you haven't been sleeping well the past few nights.’

Will shrugged and reached for his own coffee cup. ‘I have a couple of things on my mind. Nothing bad, but… I can't tell you about it yet.’

Paul looked contemplatively at Will. He’d learned to interpret even the most minute of Will’s expressions during their three years together and he didn't see anything now to concern him. And he trusted Will. The rockiness of their first meeting and eventual re-introduction had given way to the most open and honest relationship he'd ever had, romantic, platonic, or otherwise.

‘Okay,’ he said. ‘Well, the other day, Brady said Tate wanted me to visit and play with him and his new train set. But I think it's more that Brady’s had to play with it for two weeks straight and needs a break before he goes nuts. Want to go with me? I was planning to drop by after lunch.’

Will laughed. ‘Sounds fun. I’ll see if Ari feels like going, too; they can help tire each other out.’

Paul kissed his cheek and hopped off the counter. ‘Great. I’m going to make some toast and eggs. Do you want some or are your artificial colours and flavours enough for today?’

‘Froot Loops have natural fruit flavours,’ Will said, matter-of-fact. ‘Read the box.’

‘Oh? What fruit do they taste like?’

Will paused, clearly unable to come up with an answer. He fished a bright green loop out of his bowl and threw it at Paul’s knowing smirk. Paul caught it and popped it into his mouth.

‘So, toast? Eggs?’

‘I could eat,’ Will decided. ‘Especially if a hot guy's cooking for me.’

Paul gave him an unimpressed look, but he was smiling when he went to get the eggs.

;-;

 **Will (08:17):** Why are you so sweet?

 **Will (08:17):** You left me a pair of slippers

 **Will (08:17):** I feel like a fucking Disney princess

 

 **Paul (08:19):** Which Disney princess got slippers?

 

 **Will (08:19):** Cinderella!

 **Will (08:19):** Did it ever seem to you like everyone in that story had a real shoe fetish going on?

 **Will (08:19):** Oh except she had glass slippers

 **Will (08:19):** And mine are fuzzy

 **Will (08:20):** And don't have heels

 **Will (08:20):** Why were her shoes even called slippers?

 

 **Paul (08:20):** I have to admit I’ve never given much thought to Cinderella’s shoes.

 **Paul (08:20):**  I guess because they were easy to slip on? 

 **Paul (08:21):** Anyway, I wasn't being sweet. It's not hygienic for you to sit on the counter every morning.

 

 **Will (08:21):** I’ll remember that the next time you want to have sex in the kitchen

 

 **Paul (08:21):**  I'm not the one who's always getting grabby in there.

 

 **Will (08:22):** You never say no

 **Will (08:22):** Stop making me think about sex when I have to be at work soon

 **Will (08:22):** Thank you for the slippers :) :) :)

 

 **Paul (08:23):** You’re welcome. :)

 

 **Will (08:23):** ;)

 

 **Paul (08:23):** Stop thinking about sex.

;-;

Will was quiet as the elevator doors closed. Paul pressed the button for their floor and pretended not to see Will glancing furtively at him.

‘Are you thinking what I’m thinking?’ Will asked.

Paul hid his smile. ‘That we should have taken the stairs?’

‘I’m sorry, Paul, but I have to tell you that if this elevator stops suddenly, I’m breaking out and leaving you to get eaten by the vengeful ghost.’

‘I don't think it actually ate any of those people,’ Paul said thoughtfully. ‘I know there were parts of them missing, but I think the morgue scene implied they were getting ripped apart so brutally, the cops couldn't find all of them.’

Will moaned dramatically. ‘Thanks for reminding me of that. Just the thing I need to help me sleep tonight.’

The elevator stopped and Will burst through as soon as the doors parted. He was patting his pockets for his keys by the time Paul caught up to him. Paul slipped his arms around Will’s waist, sneaking his gloved hands under the layers of shirts and coat.

‘I’d be happy to help you get to sleep, if you like,’ Paul murmured, nuzzling into the fine hair at the nape of Will’s neck.

Will tilted his head to the side, giving Paul access to more skin. ‘Yeah? That's nice, but it's still not going to keep me from saving myself from the elevator ghost.’

Paul growled and spun him around, pushing him up against their door and kissing him hard mid-laugh. They stayed there for long minutes, making out like teenagers who’d managed to sneak out for some time alone. Paul was just starting to feel a little overheated when a jingling of keys caught his attention. He pulled back from Will and looked behind him.

Their neighbour across the hall stared grumpily at them.

‘Hey, Liv,’ Paul said, discreetly taking his hand out of the back of Will’s jeans and ignoring Will’s snicker. ‘How was work?’

‘Hell,’ she said sourly. ‘I regret getting into emergency medicine more and more every day. How was date night?’

‘It was pretty good,’ Will replied happily. ‘Except _this_ guy picked a horror movie and I probably won't be able to take the elevator by myself for the next month.’

‘I hate horror movies and I’m still so jealous of you two it makes me sick.’ Liv gave a full-bodied sigh. ‘I think I’m going to have to stress bake this week. What do you want?’

Paul and Will exchanged looks and replied as one, ‘Gingerbread men.’

Liv rolled her eyes, but her words were fond. ‘You eat like children, I swear. Fine, gingerbread it is. And now I’m going to have a bath and pass out, with any luck not _in_ the bath. Goodnight.’

Paul quirked an eyebrow at Will when Liv had disappeared into her apartment. ‘Should we take this inside?’

Will dug his keys out of his coat pocket and unlocked the door. He swept into a grand bow. ‘After you, Expendable Horror Movie Character.’

The door slammed closed as Paul chased him inside.

;-;

 **Paul (18:01):** Guess what I have?

  
**Will (18:06):** Wow

 **Will (18:06):** I have so many dirty answers that it's hard to choose one

 

 **Paul (18:06):** I’ll eat another gingerbread man while I wait for you to decide.

 

 **Will (18:06):** !!!

 **Will (18:06):** What the hell?

 **Will (18:06):** We agreed to wait until we were both home to eat them!

 

 **Paul (18:07):** Yeah, but then I thought about how you said you would save yourself if we were both trapped in the elevator.

 **Paul (18:07):** And I realized you were right. It's every man for himself.

 **Paul (18:08):** Mmmmm. They're so good!

 

 **Will (18:08):** I can't believe you

 **Will (18:08):** You better not be eating them all

 **Will (18:08):** Paul

 **Will (18:09):** Paul!

 

 **Paul (18:10):** Sorry, too busy enjoying this gingerbread to text.

 

 **Will (18:10):** I’m finishing up and coming home right now

 **Will (18:10):**  DO NOT EAT ANYMORE 

;-;

Paul ran his razor one final time along his chin. He splashed water on his face, cleaning off shaving cream and bits of hair, and leaned towards the mirror to scrutinise the result.

‘Paul Narita, you are the fairest of them all,’ Will said in a sing-song voice from his perch on the edge of the bathtub. He laughed when Paul tossed a damp washcloth over his head and, without missing a beat, plucked it off to throw it back.

‘Any luck yet?’ Paul asked, hanging the washcloth up to dry before tackling his hair.

‘Nope. I’m going through the bestselling books on Amazon and hoping I’ll find something and realise it's the perfect gift for someone on our list.’

‘So we’re going to be at this until Christmas Day, then.’

‘Don't be pessimistic, Paul! It doesn't suit you. Anyway, this is why we're doing our shopping early. We have plenty of time to find the perfect gifts.’

Paul glanced at Will in the mirror and saw him scrolling rapidly through his phone, his eyebrows drawn down in concentration. It was an endearing sight, and even after all this time, Paul was surprised by the warmth that bloomed inside him.

He set his comb neatly next to Will’s styling gel. ‘Maybe we should case out everyone’s homes. Get an idea of what they're reading and what they're interested in right now.’

‘That could work,’ Will said consideringly.

‘I… was joking.’ Paul turned, settling back against the sink and facing him curiously. ‘I didn't know this was so important to you.’

‘I just want to get them right.’ Will was avoiding eye contact, suddenly twice as interested in his phone. ‘This is the first year we’re giving gifts as a couple and you know there are still some people who think we won't last and— I guess I want everyone to see that we're a team, and a really good one.’

When Paul didn't reply immediately, Will’s head dipped even further down. ‘I know; it's stupid.’

‘No,’ Paul said firmly. He crossed the bathroom and sat next to Will, their shoulders bumping. ‘If it's important to you, it's important to me. I do think the people who matter already see how committed we are to each other, but it never hurts to build up some extra goodwill, right?’

Will dropped his phone into his lap and twisted around. He took Paul’s face between his hands, thumbs stroking sweetly over Paul’s cheeks.

‘I love you,’ he said softly. ‘You know that, don't you?’

Paul did, but he never got tired of hearing it. He shifted slightly out of Will’s hold to press a kiss to his palm. ‘Let's go. Chances are we'll run into someone we know at dinner and we can try to get some gift ideas out of them. You're a reporter and I’m a PI. We’re pretty well suited to that kind of thing.’

Will let Paul tug him to his feet. The depth of affection in his eyes was breathtaking.

‘Yeah,' he said. 'We make a good team.’

;-;

 **Will (13:06):** I’m picking up that tea set we decided on for Aunt Jennifer

 **Will (13:07):** There’s a lot of useless stuff in this store

 **Will (13:07):** Do you think we need oven mitts?

 

 **Paul (13:07):** I don't know. Have we even turned on the oven once since we moved in?

 

 **Will (13:08):** I made corn dogs once

 **Will (13:08):** By “made” I mean I took them out of the freezer and heated them up

 

 **Paul (13:08):** You didn't share with me?

 

 **Will (13:08):** I think you were out having a salad with my grandma

 

 **Paul (13:09):** Which grandma?

 

 **Will (13:09):** Marlena, of course. I know you're too scared to eat alone with grandma Kate

 **Will (13:09):** Oven mitts???

 

 **Paul (13:09):** Yes. And could you get baking powder for me while you're out?

 **Paul (13:09):** Please.

 

 **Will (13:10):** What are you making?

 

 **Paul (13:10):** I was thinking of trying some taiyaki tomorrow.

 **Paul (13:10):** I got a taiyaki maker from my aunt this morning.

 **Paul (13:10):** Not sure why.

 

 **Will (13:11):** What's taiyaki again?

 

 **Paul (13:11):** The fish shaped waffles/cakes we had at that dessert place in San Francisco.

 

 **Will (13:11):** :o

 **Will (13:11):** Make them with nutella!!

 **Will (13:12):** Clear out the cabinets. I am getting a truckload of nutella

;-;

A week and a half before Christmas, Paul succumbed to the flu that had already taken out a good third of their family and friends. Will made him stay in bed, brought him a steady stream of soup, crackers and water, and called him an idiot for letting someone cough in his face.

‘I didn't let someone cough at me!’ Paul protested, indignant enough to momentarily forget the chills wracking his body. ‘It just happened.’

‘The second you saw the guy was diseased, you should have stayed at least ten feet away from him.’

‘How do I have a conversation with someone from that far away?’

‘What, you can't raise your voice?’

Paul started coughing, ending their nonsensical argument and prompting Will to force a glass of water on him.

‘How are you feeling?’ Will asked sympathetically, taking the glass away when Paul finished drinking.

‘Tired,’ Paul admitted. He slid down to lie on his pillow and watched Will do the same on his side of the bed, so that they were facing each other. ‘One of us should probably sleep in the spare room. I don't want you to get sick as well so close to the holidays.’

‘I’ll take the risk. Unless you’d rather be alone?’

Paul shook his head. ‘I like having you with me.’

Will smiled and reached out to smooth Paul’s hair out of his eyes. They gazed at each other across the bed. It was late and Paul was beginning to feel drowsy, lulled by the quiet and Will's reassuring presence.

‘Thanks for looking after me,’ Paul murmured, blinking sleepily.

‘You’re welcome,’ Will replied, equally softly. ‘Hey, Paul?’

‘Mm?’

Will was wearing one of Paul’s sweatshirts again. He pulled a little box out of the right pocket and placed it on the sheets between them.

‘You know a few weeks ago, when I wasn’t sleeping well and I told you I was thinking about something? This is the something.’

All at once, Paul was wide awake. He stared at the box, wondering if the flu could make him hallucinate. He and Will had both had such difficult experiences with marriages and weddings that the topic had only ever been broached once during their relationship, and then never again.

‘I’ve been carrying it around with me, waiting for the perfect moment. I thought about doing this on some special occasion or our anniversary,’ Will said, his smile suddenly wicked, ‘but I still don't know what date that should be. The day we met and you were in the closet and I was married? The day my amnesiac self wore down all your defences? The day my _non_ -amnesiac self wore down your defences again?’

Paul didn't want to laugh, but he couldn't help himself. ‘ _Will_. We sound like a complete disaster when you put it that way.’

‘Yeah, but we're not. We are… the opposite of a disaster. We’re amazing together.’

His hand settled over Paul’s, next to the box still lying unopened, his fingertips resting against the skin of Paul’s wrist.

‘I love you, Paul. I’ve never felt as happy and secure as I have in these last few years with you. You make me feel like I can do anything and be anything, and even if I fail, it doesn't matter because you’ll still be there beside me, strong and loving and the most giving person in the world. And I want you beside me for as long as I can have you.’

Paul smiled, his heart full to bursting. ‘Are you really proposing to me while I’m sick and sweaty? And when we can't even have sex after I say yes?’

‘Yes,’ Will said, smiling just as widely. ‘I’m showing you I don't just want you when your body’s in peak form. I’ll love you in sickness and in health, and when you lose all your abs.’

‘Wow, that's romantic.’ Paul threaded his fingers through Will’s, their hands still the only point of contact between them. His mind was sluggish from illness and overwhelmed by joy, but what was there to say? He knew he was only giving voice to a foregone conclusion. ‘You know how much I love you. You are— God, Will, you are impulsive, unpredictable, sweet. No one’s ever made me laugh as much or feel as alive as you do. I want you for as long as I can have you, because you make my life brighter.’

Will flicked open the box without letting go of Paul or looking away. The rings inside it shone even in the low light of the room.

‘Let's get married,’ he said, his eyes bright, and when Paul nodded, he surged forward and into Paul's arms.

;-;

 **Will (09:17):** Just checking in. Whenever you see this, you better still be in bed!

 

 **Paul (09:17):** Woke up 10 minutes ago.

 **Paul (09:17):** I promise I haven't moved except to drink some of the water you left me.

 

 **Will (09:17):** Good. Hey, Paul?

 

 **Paul (09:17):** Will? 

 

 **Will (09:18):** No regrets? 

 

 **Paul (09:18):** Not a single one.


End file.
